Loose leaf device



June 23, 1931. .1. L. BURGOYNE LOOSE LEAF DEVICE Filed June 19, 1929 FlG.

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INVENTOR. \IO An lav/s Burgoyne. B I

' ATTORNEYS.

H Patented June 23, 1931 (UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE JOHN LOUIS BURGOYNE, OF SAN MATEO, CALIFORNIA, ASSIGNOR T \VILSON-JONES COMPANY, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, A CORPORATION OF LIASSACHUSETTS LOOSE LEAF DEVICE Application filed. June 19, 1929.

This invention relates to loose leaf books and has. for its objects a special loose leaf device for use in conjunction with what are known as visiblerecord loose leaf books or 6 binders wherein a plurality of relatively small pages are arranged in overlapping or offset position soas to expose the margin of each leaf for various headings, the function of the device being to even up the combined thickness of the pages at all points in the book yet preserve the flexibility of the book, and allwithout substantial increase of its total thickness.

In the drawings accompanying this application Fig. 1 is a plan view of a portion of a loose leaf visible record book of the character mentioned shown with a couple of the small overlapping leaves turned upward to reveal those below as well as the full size spezonialevener sheet which lies upon the index sheet separating each group of small leaves.

Fig. 2 is a plan view of one of the index sheets removed. 7

Fig. 3 is a plan view of the rear side of one ofmy special loose leaf devices or evening-up sheets, and which sheet positions with the face shown in Fig. 3 downward against the upper face of an index sheet when in place in the book.

Fig. 4: is an enlarged broken edge view of the special evener sheet of Fig. 3.

Fig. 5 is an edge view of a closed book with a series of my special loose leaf devices or evener sheets in place.

' "Figs: 6 and 7 are enlarged longitudinal sections of the wedge element of the evener sheet as taken from the line 66 of Fig. 3 showing slightly difierent constructions of the element.

In further detail, the book comprises a loose leaf binder having a lower cover 1, and an upper cover 2, binding rings 3- or other binding devices of any desired construction not concerned in the present invention, and within the book are a plurality of vertically overlapping small leaves a, each series of which is separated by a full size plain or index leaf 5 tabbed as at 6, the tabs of the successive index leaves being designated 7 8, 9, 10 11 and 12.

Serial No. 372,117.

In Fig. 1 but thirteen of the small leaves are shown so as to keep the drawing clear, but in actual practice the overlap or exposed margins 4: are narrower and a large number of the small leaves are used in each series or group lying between each pair of index sheets, and such a large number of the small overlapping leaves greatly augments the ob jection to this style of book which the present invention is intended to rectify.

The objection alluded to consists in the fact that due to the overlapping arrangement of the small leaves, each series begins on top with but one thickness of paper-and terminates at the lowest exposed margin with but one thickness of paper whereas there is a gradual increase of thickness toward the centerso that for the distance designated X in the drawing the thickness is six thicknesses. Hence with ten series of such small leaves in the book it would be fifty leaves thick in the center (not counting the index leaves) and only ten leaves thick at top and bottom.

Such an arrangement makes it extremely difficult to make entries on the leaves and causes the leaves to slide out of position on account of the binding rings tending to pull the leaves out of alignment as they go down hill in both directions from the center.

To overcome the difficulty I provide a special evener sheet 13 which bears on one side two series of wedge elements 14: of a thick ness to substantially compensate for the lack of pages above and below the zone X for each series of small leaves so that when the sheet 13 is inserted with the wedge elements against one of the full-size index sheets 5 it will form a unit therewith for turning over by the tab of the index sheet and which will level up the series of small leaves above it.

The wedge elements are spaced small distances apart as at 15 so as to preserve the flexibility of the sheet for paging and are preferably of increasing widths toward the outer edge of the page as clearly shown in Fig. 3, also to be observed is that the wedges taper down to nothing at the edges of zone X so as to add but one thickness of paper to the actual combined thickness of each group or series of small leaves.

1 factory result may'be securedby using an 'There is a wedge element taking the perforations for the rings and the space 15in1- mediately adjacent is preferably larger than the others so as to provide for'this greatest point of bending when the book is open, the lack of writing support at this point being immaterial as no entries, are made close to the hinge.

The supporting'sheetlii being of heavy paper or other substgmtial material acts as a bridge support over the small gaps caused by the spaces 15 between the wedgesso that they are unnoticed in writing upon the small leaves, in fact a book equipped with the evener sheets is perfectly level and no one would even suspect their presence from using the book, unless it were viewed from the edge as in Fig. 5. I

In constructing my evener sheetfI may use any material 16 for the wedges such as skived leather. paper, felt. wood, or cork. glued, ce-

mented or stapled to a heavy sheet 13 of paper, cloth or other material, OI'JHSiCQRd of skiving the wedge elementmay be built up out of cverlanpine' layers 17 of paper or other material as in 7 and with any of the constructions the wedges may be simply at tached to the supporting sheet or they may tion of my invention that instead of providing one of my flexible evener sheets under each series of small leaves, a sufficiently satis- ,evener sheet under every second, or third series of small leaves, or that the wedges may be madethicker so that a smallnumber of evener sheets will be required for the whole book. 4 I

Having thus described my invention, its value anduse in a loose leaf book of the character described, I claim: 7 1 1.v A loose leaf device comprising a flexible leaf providedwith wedge elements arrangedalong opposite edges, each of said wedge ele- -'ments covered with a protective sheet secured thereto and overlapping the edge of the leaf and secured thereto.

2; A loose leaf device comprising a flexible leaf provided with wedge elements arranged along opposite edges, the wedge elements along each edge being spaced -to preserve fiexibilty of the leaf-or paging when in a book and being of increasing width toward 7 the outer edge of the leaf.

3. A loose leaf device comprising a flexible leaf provided with wedge elements arranged along opposite side edges, the wedge elements along each edge beingspaced to preserve flexibility of the leaf for paging when in a book and being of increasing width toward the outer edge of the leaf, andja relatively wide plain portion of the leaf being preserved at each side edge adjacent the inner edge of the sheet.

4. A loose leaf book device comprising a flexible leaf for the book provided with wedge elements spacedly arranged along a side edge and extending from the binding port-ion of the leaf outward, said wedge elements provided with a combined surface areasubstan tially greater than the spaces between the wedges. I

5. A looseleaf book device comprising a flexible leaf for the book provided with wedge elements spacedly arranged along a side edge andextending from the binding portionof the leaf outward, said wedge elements being secured to the leaf, and a sheet of flexible material pasted to each wedgeextending beyond the same and pasted to. the. leaf. f V

'6. An evener sheet of the character .set forth having tapering elements extending toward each other from the upper and lower margins, said elements being closely spaced over the main body of the sheet with the two innermost elements at and adjacent the binding margin comparatively widely spaced to 1 provide flexibility for flexing the cent the binding edge.

7. An evener sheet having wedge elements extending toward each other from'opposite sheet adjaedges, each element having an adhesive flapat each end glued to the sheet. 7

8. An evener sheet having spaced wedge elements extending toward each other from the upper and lower margins of said sheet,

each element having an adhesive flap at its .1

inner end pasted to one side of the sheet, and a flap at its outer end folded overandglued to the opposite side of the sheet.

9. An evener sheet having spaced wedge elements secured to theupper and lower mar- 1;:

gins, each element having an adhesive strip secured thereto with terminal flaps glued to said sheet. 1

JOHN LOUIS BURGOYNE, 

